Linguocultural Specificity of Vocabulary Objectifying the Situation of Olfactory Perception in Proverbs Collected by V.I. Dal
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2025-6-96-103
The study examines proverbs that represent the situation of olfactory perception from a linguocultural perspective. The relevance of the work is determined by the following factors: the active development of linguistic sensory studies and linguoculturology, which focus on humans and how they interpret the facts of the surrounding reality; the interest in folklore texts that allow for the reconstruction of folk representations of the world; and the possibility of integrating the research into the scientific context and expanding the understanding of the semantics of olfactory perception and its national-cultural specificity in folk sayings. The aim of the study is to investigate the literal and figurative meanings of lexical units that objectify the situation of olfactory perception in proverbs and to identify the linguocultural information they contain. The research material consists of proverbs from V.I. Dal’s collection “Proverbs of the Russian People”, which verbalize the situation of olfactory perception. The analyzed corpus of folk sayings comprises 66 units. The study employs methods such as the descriptive method, component and contextual analysis, and semantic analysis. The research demonstrates that olfactory verbs in proverbs realize both literal and figurative, culturally conditioned meanings. In folk culture, verbs such as sniff, sense, smell, stink, emit a smell are associated with unpleasant odors and are used to characterize individuals, their negative traits, social status, and various life situations. The verbs sniff, stink, smell emphasize a person’s low social status, occupation, and objectify qualities such as duplicity, cunning, and aggression. The verbs sniff and sense highlight the discrepancy between a person’s desires and their capabilities. The verbs smell and reek – serve as markers of something bad or illegal. In folk consciousness, negative things tend to leave traces and persist in memory for a long time. The verb smell verbalizes the categories of “life” and “death”, objectifying the idea that the approach of certain events (often negative) is accompanied by olfactory signs. The verb sniff denotes not only the perception of smells but also the experience of need and deprivation. This verb is associated with the manifestation of caution.
Keywords: situation of olfactory perception, linguocultural approach, verbs of smell perception, verbs of smell diffusion, verbs meaning “emit a smell”, verbs meaning “movement of smell”, literal and figurative meanings
References:
1. Azimov E.G., Schukin A.N. Novyy slovar’ metodicheskikh terminov i ponyatiy [New dictionary of methodological terms and concepts]. Moscow, IKAR Publ., 2009. 448 p. (in Russian).
2. Harchenko V.K. Lingvosensorika: fundamental’nyye i prikladnyye aspekty [Lingvosensorics: Fundamental and Applied Aspects]. Moscow, LIBROKOM Publ., 2012. 216 p. (in Russian).
3. Avdevnina O.Yu. Pertseptivnyye znacheniya v sotsial’noy sfere: ot deystviya k deyatel’nosti [Perceptual meanings in the social sphere: from action to activity]. Yazyk nauki i professional’naya kommunikatsiya, 2020, no. 1 (2), pp. 18–33 (in Russian).
4. Geyko E.V. Metaforicheskiy potentsial komponentov propozitsii obonyatel’nogo vospriyatiya [Metaphorical potential of the components of the proposition of olfactory perception]. Ural’skiy filologicheskiy vestnik. Seriya: Psikholingvistika v obrazovanii, 2014, no. 2, pp. 144–150 (in Russian).
5. Nagornaya A.V. Lingvosensorika kak perspektivnoye napravleniye sovremennykh lingvisticheskikh issledovaniy: analiticheskiy obzor [Lingvosensorics as a promising direction of modern linguistic research: Analytical review]. Ed. Ye.B. Yakovleva. Moscow, 2017. 86 p. (in Russian).
6. Pavlova N.S. Leksika s semoy “zapakh” v yazyke, rechi i tekste. Avtoref. dis. kand. filol. nauk [Vocabulary with the seme “smell” in language, speech and text. Abstract of thesis cand. philol. sci.]. Yekaterinburg, 2006. 20 p. (in Russian).
7. Odintsova M.V. Khudozhestvenno-stilevaya rol’ slov leksiko-semanticheskogo polya “Zapakh” v proizvedeniyakh I.A. Bunina (aspekty nominatsii i predikatsii). Avtoref. dis. kand. filol. nauk [Artistic and stylistic role of words of the lexical-semantic field “Smell” in the works of I.A. Bunin (aspects of nomination and predication). Abstract of thesis cand. philol. sci.]. Moscow, 2008. 28 p. (in Russian).
8. Molodkina Yu.N. Sinesteticheskaya metafora zapakha (korpusnoye issledovaniye). Avtoref. dis. kand. filol. nauk [Synesthetic metaphor of smell (corpus study). Abstract of thesis cand. philol. sci.]. Kursk, 2010. 20 p. (in Russian).
9. Bubyreva Zh.A. Kognitivnyye osnovy nominatsiy osyazatel’nogo vospriyatiya (na materiale russkogo, frantsuzskogo, angliyskogo yazykov). Avtoref. dis. kand. filol. nauk [Cognitive foundations of tactile perception nominations (based on Russian, French, and English languages). Abstract of thesis cand. philol. sci.]. Belgorod, 2011. 23 p. (in Russian).
10. Bulyubash A.Yu. Pertseptivnyy modus “zapakh” i sredstva yego yazykovogo oznachivaniya v poeticheskoy rechi I.A. Bunina i N.A. Zabolotskogo [Perceptual modus “smell” and means of its linguistic designation in the poetic speech of I.A. Bunin and N.A. Zabolotsky]. Mezhdunarodnyy nauchno-issledovatel’skiy zhurnal – International Research Journal, 2016, no. 8 (50), pp. 90–93 (in Russian).
11. Bryleva R.F. Funktsional’no-semanticheskoye issledovaniye ol’faktornoy leksiki v russkom, frantsuzskom i bashkirskom yazykakh. Avtoref. dis. kand. filol. nauk [Functional and semantic study of olfactory vocabulary in Russian, French and Bashkir languages. Abstract of thesis cand. philol. sci.]. Ufa, 2016. 26 p. (in Russian).
12. Bashkova I.V., Fel’de O.V. Sintaksis obonyatel’nogo vospriyatiya v povesti V.P. Astaf’yeva “Posledniy poklon” [Syntax of olfactory perception in V. P. Astafiev’s story “The Last Bow”]. Sibirskiy filologicheskiy forum – Siberian philolgical forum, 2024, no. 3 (28), pp. 4–15 (in Russian).
13. Basalaeva E.G. Dinamicheskiye protsessy v soderzhanii otsenochnoy semantiki (na materiale leksiki obonyatel’nogo vospriyatiya) [Dynamic processes in the content of evaluative semantics (based on the vocabulary of olfactory perception)]. Terra Linguistica, 2025, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 19–29 (in Russian). doi: 10.18721/JHSS.16102
14. Klassen K., Houvz D., Sinnott E. Znacheniye i vlast’ zapakha [The Meaning and Power of Smell]. Aromaty i zapakhi v kul’ture [Aromas and smells in culture]. Izd. 2-e, ispr. Kniga 1. Comp. O.B. Vaynshteyn. Moscow, Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye Publ., 2010. Pp. 43–51 (in Russian).
15. Shilina A.V. Lingvokul’turologicheskiy aspekt izucheniya leksiki ol’faktornogo vospriyatiya [Linguocultural Aspect of Studying the Lexicon of Olfactory Perception]. Aktual’nyye problemy gumanitarnykh i yestestvennykh nauk, 2013, no. 6 (in Russian). URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/lingvokulturologicheskiy-aspekt-izucheniya-leksiki-olfaktornogo-vospriyatiya (accessed 30 January 2025).
16. Basalaeva E.G. Natsional’no-kul’turnaya spetsifika leksiki obonyatel’nogo vospriyatiya [National and cultural specificity of the vocabulary of olfactory perception]. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta – Science for Education Today, 2016, no. 2 (30), pp. 49–60 (in Russian).
17. Kolupaeva A.A. Kontsept zapakh i sposoby yego reprezentatsii v russkom yazyke. Avtoref. dis. kand. filol. nauk [The concept of smell and ways of its representation in the Russian language. Abstract of thesis cand. philol. sci.]. Tambov, 2009. 24 p. (in Russian).
18. Medvedeva D.I. Kontseptualizatsiya zapakha v russkoy i serbskoy lingvokul’turakh [Conceptualization of smell in Russian and Serbian linguocultures]. Vestnik RUDN. Seriya: Teoriya yazyka. Semiotika. Semantika – RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Smiotics and Semantics, 2016, no. 1, pp. 115–125 (in Russian).
19. Peredrienko T.Yu. Paradigmaticheskiye otnosheniya v leksiko-semanticheskoy gruppe “zapakh” [Paradigmatic relations in the lexical-semantic group “smell”]. Voprosy sovremennoy lingvistiki – Key Issues of Contemporary Linguistics, 2024, no. 5, pp. 81-94 (in Russian). doi: https://doi.org/10.18384/2949-5075-2024-5-81-94
20. Ozhegov S.I., Shvedova N.Yu. Tolkovyy slovar’ russkogo yazyka [Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language]. 4-e izd., dop. Moscow, Azbukovnik Publ., 1999. 944 p. (in Russian).
21. Kuznetsov S.A. Bol’shoy tolkovyy slovar’ russkogo yazyka. Avtorskaya redaktsiya [Large explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. Author’s edition]. 2000. 1536 p. (in Russian).
URL: https://gramota.ru/poisk?query=%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9&mode=slovari&dicts[]=42 (accessed 29 January 2025).
22. Zapal’skiy G.M. Kontsept “kuteynik” v russkom literaturnom obikhode [The concept of “kuteynik” in Russian literary use]. Problemy istoricheskoy poetiki – The Problems of Historical Poetics, 2021, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 215–233 (in Russian). doi: 10.15393/j9.art.2021.9783
23. Slovar’ russkogo yazyka: v 4 tomakh. AN SSSR, Institut russkogo yazyka [Dictionary of the Russian language: in 4 volumes. USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Russian Language]. Ed. A.P. Evgen’eva. Moscow, Russkiy yazyk Publ., 1981–1984. URL: https://www.slovari.ru/search.aspx?s=0&p=3068 (accessed 29 January 2025).
24. Nan’ Jan’hua. Paremii s komponentami – nazvaniyami ovoshchnykh kul’turnykh rasteniy v russkom yazyke (na fone kitayskogo i koreyskogo yazykov) [Proverbs with components - names of vegetable crops in the Russian language (against the background of the Chinese and Korean languages)]. Filologicheskiye nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki – Philology: Theory and Practice, 2021, vol. 14, no. 10, pp. 3057–3062 (in Russian).
( 427.2 kB ) 
( 423.65 kB )
Issue: 6, 2025
Series of issue: Issue 6
Rubric: THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
Pages: 96 — 103
Downloads: 186